


dream launch

by tentography



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Everyone makes a cameo basically, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rated for cursing, dont ask me why they dont text but use instagram DMs the answer is I like insta aesthetics lmaoo, image heavy!, rating might go up if I feel like it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 05:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tentography/pseuds/tentography
Summary: Kun returns a pink Iphone to its rightful owner's friend and falls grossly in love.or: the one where Kun slides in Ten's DMs





	1. profiles

**Author's Note:**

> I started this AU on [twitter](https://twitter.com/softenkun/status/1125796048277053443)! I will update there first, but the ao3 version will be the revised version (spell checked lol). This probably looks real bad on mobile unless you rotate your phone! You can also check it out on twitter until I figure out how to fix this ( ･ั﹏･ั)

✧ Ten / major in digital arts / teaches dance classes to kids / bffs with Taeyong and Johnny / roomies with Yuta

✧ Kun / major in aerospace engineering / doesn't know anything about social media / lives off campus / just wants to return a lost item

✧ Taeyong / major in fashion design / loses everything, all the time / lives with his boyfriend Jaehyun / wants to launch his own brand【Ruby】

 

✧ Johnny / major in photography / 60% coffee, 40% memes / friends with everyone / no one has ever seen him be angry

✧ Taeil / doing his PhD in mechanical engineering / lead singer in a punk/rock band (semi-hiatus tho bc life 😔) / Johnny's boyfriend / Rides a scooter around campus 🛴

✧ Hendery / doing his PhD in mechanical engineering / too smart for his own good / only uses 2 braincells in non-academic situations / part of Ten's dance crew 👯♂️/ annoying but everyone forgives him because he's also sweet af

✧ Yuta / department of east asian languages and literature (major undeclared) / Ten's roomie + part of his dance crew 👯♂️ / soccer maniac, drags his friends to the local sports bar all the time / Sicheng's boyfriend 💕

❝The Office❞ aka: six desks crammed into a study hall, ancient printer, whiteboard, a bin.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the pic sizes, I made them only with twitter in mind. I will make them more uniform from chapter 4 onwards since chapter 1-3 were already prepared. :) Don't hesitate to read it on [twitter](https://twitter.com/softenkun/status/1125796048277053443) instead if the pic sizes bother you!!

_Ten to Taeyong._

_Kun to Ten._

_Ten to Taeyong._

_Kun to Ten._

Ten to Taeyong

Taeyong to Kun

Taeyong to Ten

 

"Yuta?" Ten calls, closing the door behind him. He waits a beat for an answer before toeing off his shoes and dramatically throws himself on the couch with a grunt. Nuzzling his face into the pink fluffy pillows, Ten can't help but pout.

The guy who found Taeyong's phone - call me Kun he said - hadn't left his mind. He can't stop thinking about how Kun had walked up to him all smiles, wearing a glorious lab coat saying "you must be Ten." 

He'd almost said "nah I must be dreaming" because what the fuck. Was it allowed for people to look that good at 8am in the morning?

And Ten couldn't believe how nice Kun was for going through all that trouble to return a phone. He felt pathetic for being this obsessed about someone he barely interacted with.

His phone chimed, vibrating in his pocket. With a little bit of effort (skinny jeans🤷) he wormed it out, looking at his new notifications.

"Holy shit."

 

Ten grins, studying the four posts Kun had liked. No offense, but he looked damn cute in these pictures. Maybe Kun thought he was cute too?

 

 


	3. Chapter 3




	4. Chapter 4

"Here's your coffee, bro!" Lucas yells at Kun, not so carefully depositing Kun's "#1 mom" mug (courtesy of Chenle) on his desk in the otherwise empty office. They like to call it their office, but really their "office" is a glorified study hall with 6 desks, a whiteboard and an ancient printer crammed in it.

"Thanks, Lucas." Kun grimaces, silently wiping the little bit of spilt coffee on his desk before it could stain the wood. "You're lucky the others aren't in yet, otherwise they would've locked you out for yelling. Again."

"That's exactly why I'm being so loud! You never yell at me." Lucas laughs, plopping down at his desk adjacent from Kun's with an 'ooff'. "What's your plan for tod- wait. Whose phone is that?" Lucas asks, pointing towards the pink Iphone sat upon a stack of graded papers.

Kun shrugs, nonchalantly opening his laptop. "I found it at the quad yesterday. I'm meeting the owner's friend in a bit to return it."

"Oh, okay. As expected from yo- Did you do your hair?!" Lucas squints at Kun's hair. His usual mussed brown locks were now handsomely slicked back. "And you're wearing clothes that for once don't make you look like you're nearing your forties. Bro.. what the hell."

"That's a bit rude, Xuxi. I just wanted to try something new."

"Oh my god, it's the person coming to pick up the phone, isn't it?! Show me who it is!" Lucas whines, leaning over his desk to make grabby hands at Kun's hair.

Kun swats away Lucas' huge hands, capable of doing infinite damage to everything they touch. "Fine, whatever. You're right. I saw an instagram notification coming from the lost Iphone before the battery died so I contacted that person and I don't know.. I just think he is cute that’s all." He says in one breath, pulling up his newly made instagram account to show the other.

"Damn, you made instagram just to return a phone? You're too kind, bro." Lucas says, tapping on kit10's account. "Hey, I know this guy."

Kun yanks his phone back from Lucas' hands. "You do?" he asks, not so casually.

"Yeah, his name is Ten. He's also Thai."

"Huh, okay." Kun says, returning his phone to the pocket of his lab coat. "Don't tell him I think he's cute."

Lucas nods solemnly. "Don't worry. I don't know him that well. But I'm pretty sure Taeil and Hendery are close to him. You should ask them when they are in."

"I'll think about it," Kun says, phone vibrating in his pocket.

Kun smooths down his hair, grabbing the pink Iphone off the stack of papers, almost knocking the stack over. "He's here."

"Good luck, bro." Lucas gives him a thumbs up, laughing at Kun while he stumbles out of the door.

Kun knows he's in for some bullshit as he walks through the hallway, the closed door doing nothing to muffle the shouting coming from inside the office. He had been gone for ten, fifteen minutes tops. He literally only went to meet Ten in the lobby and immediately returned to the office. But that was enough time for all hell to break loose. He silently apologizes to the other tutors and TAs sharing the hallway, before opening the door.

The ruckus halts as the door swings open, five pairs of eyes looking like they got caught in the act focused on Kun standing in the doorway. He tries not to groan at how they are all gathered around Lucas' desk. Lucas definitely told them everything. 

"Oh my god, he really did his hair!" Hendery blurts out, bouncing in Kun's chair as he squeals in delight. "I can't believe you own normal clothes."

Jungwoo is all smiles and bright eyes, hopping off Lucas' desks looking Kun over from head to toe. "You're so handsome like this!"

Kun mumbles a 'thank you' while nudging Hendery out of his seat. He ignores the inquiring looks directed at him from all sides and boots up his laptop, frowning at his now-cold coffee. "And a good morning to you all, too." 

"Morning!" Xiaojun merrily chirps back, ushering Hendery to their set of desks across from Taeil and Jungwoo's.

"So you wanna fuck Ten, huh?" 

"Taeil!" Xiaojun gasps, almost drowned out by Lucas' booming laughter.

"What?" Taeil shrugs, rolling back to his desk, his chair squeaking as he makes his way from Lucas' desk to his own. "Before today I was 70% sure that Kun had no other interests except for aeroplanes, cooking and acting like a senior citizen. But here he is looking fashionable and with an insta? It’s a Christmas miracle."

Kun really likes Taeil most of the time, he really does, especially because he and Xiaojun are the only normalish people in their little circle of rookie academics and forever suffering teacher assistants. He pushes down the urge to throttle him. "You're older than me."

"But do you know what a dab is?"

"Yeah, I do."

"No you don’t!" Hendery yells.

He really doesn't.

"It's okay, though. Ten can teach you," Taeil says, and Kun knows he's smirking, he can hear it in his voice even though the other is bowed over a stack of papers.

Lucas fidgets in his seat, practically vibrating in his chair. "So how was it? Did you two hit it off? Did you kiss?"

Kun chokes. "Why would we ki- you know what, never mind. It was fine. I returned the phone, we chatted a bit and then he had to leave. That's all."  

"That's so boring." Hendery boos.

"What else was I supposed to do?"

"Message him again. Ten is totally single." Taeil says, haphazardly putting away files and folders into his bag. "And he's very much interested in guys as well. I'm off to my demonic class, see you guys later."

Kun waves at the older hurrying out of the door, the others calling out a quick 'bye bye' and 'good luck'. 

"Taeil is right, you should shoot your shot," Hendery says.

Kun turns to him, surprised at the sincerity in his voice.

"I've known Ten for a year or so and he is a /lot/. People are often intimidated by him, but he is also kind as fuck if you take the time to get to know him." Hendery flashes him an encouraging smile. "And I think he would spice up your life."

Kun understands why one would be intimidated by Ten. He was shocked at the number of followers the other had, but he understood after looking through Ten's posts. The guy is simply put incredibly stunning and he seems to be pretty popular. Who wouldn't be a bit afraid to start a conversation with someone that good looking?

"You're thinking too hard about this, dude." Lucas' voice booms, pulling Kun back from his thoughts.

"Just go for it!" Jungwoo agrees, lightly pumping his fist in the air. 

Kun nervously tugs at his hair, frowning when it doesn't budge before remembering how he almost emptied an entire tub of wax in it earlier this morning. "I don't know what to say to him, though."

"We'll help you!" Xiaojun offers, turning to Kun. "Show us your past convo." 

Hendery scoffs. "Dudes, it's insta. He should start by thirst-liking his pictures."


	5. Chapter 5

That afternoon, after spending hours at the lab and even more hours of grading papers and answering emails, Kun has some time to breathe.

  
The office is empty, save for him. Lucas is currently sprinting across campus for a lecture, one he forgot about until 3 minutes before its supposed to start. He won't get in trouble for being late. He's the Geography department's favorite, not only because he's a big lovable idiot but also cause he's some kind of genius. Lucas is a freshman research assistant for his department's head professor and taking double his course load. Kun can't believe it sometimes.

  
Xiaojun is off tutoring a second year lab practical. Kun doesn't remember the specifics but the class has something to do with diseases, probably. Either way, Xiaojun is a little genius too. He enrolled in pharmaceutical sciences at their university at the age of sixteen, now barely three years later he's already working on his undergraduate thesis while juggling his TA gig. He can still remember when Xiaojun was a bright-eyed seventeen year old, overwhelmed by student life but ready to face the challenge with a smile on his face. But he also remembers the days where Xiaojun would be at his doorstep, tears already threatening to fall from his eyes, needing a shoulder to cry on without language being an issue, drowning in stress and homesickness.

  
Kun has only known Lucas for half a semester, but he's pretty sure he'll soon be at his doorstep doing the same. Lucas seems like a silly loudmouth (he is), but Kun knows he's also a huge softie who just wants to make his parents proud.

  
Kun doesn't know what Hendery, that little shit, is up to at the moment, but he's glad that he's not in the office. Hendery is currently doing his PhD in mechanical engineering, having received his graduate degree before Kun even finished his undergraduate, but it's hard to remember how smart he really is when he acts like an erratic teen all the time. Kun can't help but be fond of him regardless. And to be honest, he doesn't know how Hendery ended up in their shared office when less qualified people have their own or are at least placed with people in their own departments, but luckily Hendery doesn't seem to mind. Damn those budget cuts.

  
So yeah, Kun shares an office with three certified geniuses. Jungwoo, Taeil and him might not be as naturally gifted as them, but they've also worked their asses off to get here. ('Here' being the bottom of the academic barrel, but they'll take what they can get.)  
  
Two years ago, when Kun was finishing up his undergraduates and applying for his graduate programme, he’d also applied for a lab research position in his department. Luckily, he got in with no problems, his professors welcoming him with open arms. Not so luckily, however, the position also required him to be a TA, which meant having never ending papers to grade, a multitude of undergraduate tutorials and labs to teach, and endless emails to answer on top of finishing his graduate thesis. The university had granted him a work space as part of his TA compensation, which is how he ended up in their little office.  
  
At first, Taeil and Hendery were the only occupants of the office. They started doing their PhD research at the same time in the department of mechanical engineering and were stuck together. The story goes that Hendery drove Taeil nuts as he was either bouncing off the walls or making quips about his age. When Kun and Xiaojun joined the office, Taeil had almost cried tears of happiness. Kun could understand his pain. Hendery was quite... bouncy. God bless his heart, though. According to Taeil, Xiaojun and Kun's presence had mellowed Hendery out. Kun doesn't even want to know how Hendery used to be. He can barely handle 'mellow' Hendery.   
  
Somewhere halfway that semester, Jungwoo started his TA gig for the department of electrical engineering after transfering from a university in the countryside to theirs in the capital. Kun thought that Jungwoo would be just like Xiaojun, a little angel, a breath of fresh air between Hendery crackheadedness and Taeil's unpredictability. Kun was wrong.

Jungwoo on his own? Amazing. The sweetest boy on earth. Very compatible with Xiaojun and Kun. Jungwoo around Taeil, Hendery or Lucas? Always looking for trouble.

Honestly, after Lucas joined at the start of this semester Kun can say with confidence that he's glad that all six of their schedules are rarely aligned except for a few mornings and afternoons throughout the week. They would never get any work done otherwise.  
  
He fishes his phone out of his pocket, ignoring the 40 or so messages in their 'Office G-28' group chat, half of them sent by Hendery and the other half sent by Lucas.

They'd said to 'thirst-like' some of Ten's pictures and ease into a conversation afterwards. Hendery suggested doing it immediately, but Jungwoo pointed out that that would seem a bit desperate 'af' at barely 10am in the morning. Xiaojun added that 'thirst-liking' after 11pm will just seem like he's looking for a booty call. So here Kun is, hopefully appropriately timed at 3pm in the afternoon, shooting his shot.  
  
Taeyong, the owner of the pink Iphone and Ten's best friend (according to Hendery) had messaged him too that morning. He'd insisted on buying him coffee next week and Lucas had screamed at him to ask Taeyong to bring Ten, triggering Hendery into shouting back his disagreement because 'that's too desperate bro'. Jungwoo and Xiaojun started discussing the pros and cons of inviting Ten in between Hendery and Lucas' shouting match. Kun had resolutely ignored all the yelling and agreed on a time and place. This was his life.  
  
He opens the instagram app, pulling up Ten's profile, 'kit10'. He hadn't noticed Ten's username before now, too busy with being a nervous wreck. Could it be... kitten? Kun gulps. He doesn't want to think about why that makes his heart jump.

He scrolls through Ten's posts in silence, deciding on which posts he should like. Xiaojun had said 'more than three, less than six otherwise you'll look like a chump'. Kun doesn't understand what that means, but he decides on liking four pictures, all of which only have Ten on them as Jungwoo had instructed. 'That way he'll know you think he's hot shit, Kun. That's basic knowledge.'  
  
Ten has a LOT of pictures, some of them were of food (mostly coffee), some of them of nice scenery or animals, some of them of him and his friends, but most of them were just Ten. Ten being breath-taking, no matter what he's doing.  
  
Kun feels a little bit like an asshole for being this enamoured with someone's looks, but Ten seems like a kind person in the minimal conversations they had. Plus, Hendery, Taeil and Lucas hadn't said anything bad about the guy, so he figured he must be a nice person. It's okay for him to pursue this right? Ugh, fuck it. Kun scrolls through Ten's pictures, liking 4 posts that struck his eye in quick succession and throws his phone on his desk, burying his face in his arms. Who knew SNS could be this anxiety inducing.. Stress!  
  
He hears the door open with a creak followed by soft chuckles. Those evil chuckles can only mean on thing: Taeil is back from his meetings.  
  
"How's it going, Kun?" Taeil says, stealing Lucas’ chair and pulling it up next to him, lightly hitting his head with a stack of paper. Kun guesses Taeil has new stuff to grade. A lot of it too, judging from the way that HURT!  
  
"Life." Kun mumbles, defending himself from Taeil's onslaught with his hand, smacking at the air.  
  
"Life indeed." Taeil says, ceasing his attacks on Kun’s head with a laugh.  
  
"You done for today?" Kun asks, straightening in his chair now that he is safe. Taeil looks tired, his hair is a mess and his tie crooked, probably due to his habit of pulling at it when he's agitated. Kun knows he had meetings and classes all over campus today. The only reason he hasn’t dropped dead yet is because Taeil uses an electric scooter to get around campus. They had all laughed their asses off the first time Taeil pulled up to their office with a helmet and his scooter. Taeil had shrugged it off with a smirk on his face, completely unphased by the teasing. Hendery and Jungwoo have scooters now too. He's truly a trendsetter.   
  
"Almost." Taeil nods. “I just need to input some grades and then I’m off to the lab. How about you? You texted Ten yet?”  
  
Buzz buzz. Kun gulps, nodding slowly.  
  
"Your phone is buzzing."  
  
Could it be..? Kun doesn't want to know.   
  
Taeil snorts, snatching Kun's phone off his desk. "Oh my god, it's Ten."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back lol! Thank you for the kudos and sweet messages they really warm my heart ٩(๑´0`๑)۶ Please bear with me if the formatting is weird I'm uploading from mobile because I don't have access to my laptop for a little while!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated the 'profile' page in chapter 1! I hope the formatting is better this time <33

 

"Dude, you text like you're writing a paper," Taeil says, scrolling through the conversation.

“Is it really that bad?" Kun sighs. He doesn’t think he was being _that_ formal. He even haha-ed at one point, he really thought he nailed it. Honestly, the only people Kun ever texts are his officemates, Chenle, and their parents. He prefers calling over texting, but ultimately he’d rather meet people face to face. He’s just not that good at typing out his thoughts, some things can’t be conveyed through words on a screen.   

"It doesn't matter, he's into you despite your awful DM decorum." Taeil shrugs as he returns Kun's phone. "You even got a date out of it."

"Meeting for coffee is hardly a date, right?" Kun bites at his lip, sliding his phone back into his pocket. He doesn’t want to go around assuming things. Getting a coffee together is like having a lunch meeting, right?

"I don't know," Taeil cocks his head, contemplating over the question, almost walking into the printer. "I met my boyfriend for coffee and we fucked a good half an hour later. Anything goes, really."

"You what?!" Kun wheezes, spinning in his chair to face Taeil sitting at his own desk now. How can he say that without being embarrassed?  

"Yeah, Johnny is the best." Taeil grins, smiling fondly at the memory. "By the way, Ten and Johnny used to date when they were freshmen. Now they're just best friends, though."

"Oh, okay. That's fine, right?" He doesn’t care about past relationships and the likes, that’s hardly his business.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. Just wanted to let you know." Taeil nods as he ruffles through his messy drawers. "I gotta go to the lab. You're going to be fine, right?"

"I think so," Kun says, rubbing his slightly sweaty palms along his jeans. "It's just coffee."

Taeil crams a few books into his bag and tugs his coat back on, patting down his pockets to check if he has all his stuff. "No it isn't, but you'll be fine regardless. Text us if you need help with anything, yeah?"

Kun hums an affirmative as Taeil rushes out, feeling a little bit out of sorts at today's events.

The last time he ‘dated’ was back in high school when he still lived in China. All in all, it was a huge mess and at the very least an enlightening experience.

She’d confessed to him with a shaky voice, using up all her courage and he’d accepted because he was afraid of hurting her feelings, afraid of disappointing her. They’d dated for a little while, walking to and from school together, eating their lunches together, but nothing more than that. Kun didn’t know what else he was supposed to do, all he knew were numbers and calculations. In the end, he hurt her more by never returning her sincerity, so she broke it off. But she’d never once blamed him for it. Kun knows it was his fault.

He hopes things will be different this time around. You know, even if they are just going for coffee.


	7. Chapter 7

『FRIDAY'S FEED』

 


	8. Chapter 8

Ten braces himself for Johnny’s inevitable shit-eating grin and overall annoying self as he knocks on the glass doors of the Beanery. He burrows his face deeper into his coat while he waits, yawning into the collar of his oversized fluffy coat, trying to hide from the frosty coldness of six-thirty a.m. on a Saturday in January.

After half a minute of waiting and pouting in the cold, Johnny emerges from the back of the café, waving around his huge limbs in a greeting, almost knocking over a set of chairs upturned on a table. Ten can’t believe how Johnny hasn’t broken a single bone yet in the time they’ve known each other. Stupid people are truly harder to kill. 

Johnny unlocks the door, laughing at Ten’s shivering form, drowning in the fabric of his coat, frowning behind his black-rimmed glasses. “You look like death, bro,” Johnny snorts, stepping aside to let Ten enter, not bothering to lock the door again since they open at seven anyway. 

“Can you please shut the fuck up for once and give me a cappuccino,” Ten says, slipping inside the cosy warmth of the café as fast as he can. “I beg of you.”

He follows Johnny to the bar, taking down the heavy bar stools in an effort to not be a total scrub, and sits down, waiting for Johnny to finish fixing him a cappuccino. He enjoys the peace for a moment, the sounds of Johnny working the coffee machines, softly humming to a tune he can’t exactly place and the aroma of coffee and freshly baked pastries doing wonders for his bad mood. 

Yesterday had been crazy. Ten’s schedule on Fridays is usually packed, but generally doable. His first class starts at nine-thirty and his last lecture ends at three in the afternoon, he’s free to do whatever until he has to teach his two-hour junior dance class starting at six. After the class ends, he has the dance studio booked for their small dance crew. It’s rare for all of their schedules to line up, so often times it’ll just be him and the music. Some of his junior students love to hang around after class and watch, but Ten is quick to kick them out if the others can’t make it. He can’t stand having other people see him dance solo, something about it feels too personal, like he’s exposing his entire self.

So yeah, Fridays are usually alright, but yesterday his annoying graphic illustration professor put up an assignment due that same night. He’d already woken up earlier than normal to pick up Taeyong’s phone and he’d figured he’d do the assignment after a short nap when he finished his classes, before leaving for work but then his boss Seulgi called asking him to cover a one hour Zumba class for his diarrhoea ridden coworker. As a broke college student, Ten really couldn’t say no to the extra cash despite being dead tired and stressed about his assignment. In the end, he half-assed a shitty illustration while commuting to work (perks of owning an Ipad), putting on the finishing touches and handing it in when his students had a fifteen-minute break. The only reason why yesterday hadn’t sucked the life out of him was because of Kun.. just.. Kun and his entire existence. 

“So,” Johnny starts, depositing a coffee and a pecan swirl fresh from the oven in front of Ten. “I heard you’ve got a crush.”

“Coffee first. Then we’ll talk.” Ten says, ignoring Johnny’s inquisitive eyes as he takes a sip of his cappuccino, the sweet milk and bitter coffee injecting him with new life. Johnny’s coffee is truly the best. 

“Have you tried learning how to work your coffee machine instead of coming here every time Yuta’s sleeping over at Sicheng’s? You can’t always rely on Yuta or me for your coffee fix. Be independent! It’s what Destiny’s Child would’ve wanted, Ten.”

Ten cocks his head, thinking it over. “I could. But then you won’t get to see my beautiful face every Saturday morning, I know it’s the highlight of your week.”

“You’re right, your cranky caffeine deprived face is definitely the highlight of my weekends.” Johnny deadpans. “For real, though. Tell me about this guy. Everyone’s been talking about it and I’m kinda sad you haven’t told me shit.” Johnny says, finishing up his own latté, pulling up a chair to sit next to Ten. 

Ten hums, biting into his pecan pastry. “Who’s been talking about me?” 

“Like I said, everyone. The group chat blew up after Taeyong sent us a pic of you smiling at your phone like an idiot with the caption ‘he’s got a date’. He leaked all the info, dude. I don’t know why you’re meeting him here tomorrow when everyone’s always around.”

“I was busy all day yesterday so I didn’t check. I jumped from the shower straight into bed when I came home, I would’ve told you otherwise. Please don’t be mad at me John-bear.” Ten teases, fake-pouting at Johnny. “Honestly, there’s not much else to tell.”

“What’s his name? What does he do? Is he a criminal? Give me the details.” Johnny urges.

Ten finishes the pastry, licking at the little crumbs and caramel sugar from his fingers. “Alright, calm down. His name is Kun and no I don’t think he’s a criminal. Actually, you should ask Taeil about him since they know each other rather well.”

“Taeil knows him?” Johnny squints his eyes, mulling over the name in his mind. “I vaguely remember Taeil talking about someone who might’ve been named Kun, I think he works at Sicheng’s club.”

“You’re shitting me.” Ten says, slamming his cup on the table, coffee almost sloshing out of the cup.

Johnny nods. “If he’s the guy I’m thinking of then I’m really not. He’s not a bartender like Sicheng though, I think he does security or some shit so nothing crazy.”

“That’s unexpected. He seems so.. soft. Like a smart teddy bear with the cutest nose and a smile to die for.”

“Isn’t he kind of clean cut for your tastes? Considering your track record I mean.” Johnny says, wriggling his eyebrows. 

“You were literally the most vanilla person ever when we met so don’t even go there, Johnny.” Ten rolls his eyes. “Besides, every relationship I’ve been in after we were together were hardly serious. I don’t want this to be the same.”

Johnny pats his head roughly, shooting ten one of his trademark goofy smiles. “I’ll be rooting for you, Tennie.” 

Ten shoves at Johnny, smoothing down his hair. “Alright enough of this sappy shit. I gotta go, Mr Suh. I’ve got homework to do and classes to teach.” Ten downs the last of his coffee and zips up his coat. “I love you, bye, good luck at work say hi to Yuta when he comes in for his shift!” Ten yells over his shoulder as he dashes out of the door. Johnny never charges him for anything when he’s around (ah, the power of being friends with the manager), but that won’t stop Ten from making a dramatic exit whenever he can. What can he say, he lives for the drama.


	9. Chapter 9

“Kun-ma, I heard you finally got yourself a boyfriend,” Chenle yells as he shuts the front door, stomping through the hall of their little 2 bedroom apartment. He storms into Kun’s room, shoes and bags discarded all over the place, leaving a trail from the front door to the hallway, which Kun’ll obviously make him tidy up later. He flops down on Kun’s neatly made bed, fighting open a bag of crisps he procured out of nowhere.

Kun turns in his chair to face his little brother, a sigh escaping his lips at the chaos Chenle unleashed in less than a minute of being home. “Where did you hear that? I don’t have a boyfriend. Get off my bed please there’s a chair right there. I ask you every time, Lele, please don’t ruin my sheets.”

Chenle droops, rolling off his bed with a sullen face and Kun almost wants to allow his little brother to sit on his bed, but the _crumbs_. The last time he let Chenle eat on his bed he ended up finding popcorn in his sheets, under his bed and between his mattress and bed frame for days after. It pains him deeply, but he’d rather deal with pouty Lele than deal with another popcornpocalypse.

Chenle slides Kun’s piano chair over to his desk to sit with him, happily crunching on his crisps. “Renjun said he overheard it from Sicheng-gege who was on the phone with his boyfriend who heard it from his friends, who are all apparently friends with your new boyfriend. Why didn’t you tell me?” Chenle pouts, his bottom lip jutting out, a tiny crumb stuck at the corner of his mouth. Kun might be biased, but he genuinely thinks Chenle is the cutest sixteen-year-old to ever exist, even if he’s loud and messy.

“I didn’t tell you because there’s nothing to tell. I don’t have a boyfriend, but I am meeting someone for coffee tomorrow. So, that’s probably what you’ve been hearing about.” Kun wipes Chenle’s face with his sleeve, smiling at his brother’s ‘ack!’, nose scrunching at the assault.

In hindsight, he should’ve expected something like this to happen. From the moment Xuxi said that he, Taeil and Hendery knew Ten it was obvious that they’d have other mutual acquaintances. He just didn’t expect the news to travel to Chenle, and from his school friend out of all people. Granted, Renjun's brother Sicheng attends the same university, but damn Ten and him really do have a lot of friends in common. It’s not that Kun hides these type of things from Chenle, they are actually really open with each other, but he didn’t think his meet-up with Ten was that big of a deal. Clearly, their entire circle of friends thought differently.

“But why is everyone saying you’re boyfriends? Are you interested? Who is he?” Chenle asks.

“They’re joking, Lele, it’s not a big deal. His name is Ten and yes I am interested I guess, but honestly, I don’t know anything about him yet. We’ll see how tomorrow goes and I promise you’ll be the first to know.”

Chenle holds out his oily pinky. “Okay, pinky-promise!”

Reluctantly, Kun links his (clean) pinky with Chenle’s, bouncing their hands up and down. “How was your day? Did you get your Korean language grade back?”

“My day was great! Jaemin dared Jeno to drink like an entire bottle of orange juice in one go and Jisungie filmed the entir- AH!” Chenle exclaims, eyes going wide. “I almost forgot! Can I ask you something its really really important?”

“What’s up?” Kun says, stealing a crisp.

Chenle turns the bag towards Kun, offering more of the crispy snack. “Can I _please_ take dance classes? All my friends are doing it too and it seems like a lot of fun.”

Kun thinks it over for a second. “Have you asked your parents? If they agree to it then I don’t see why not.”

“They said I can do it if you think it’s a good idea. But the thing is, classes are three times a week for two hours.” Chenle explains.

“Oh, that’s a lot to take up.” Kun considers Chenle’s schedule. It’s not that he has anything against dance classes, but Chenle has only been in South-Korea for half a year now. He’d enrolled at an international school, planning on graduating from high school here and getting into a Korean university too. Apart from his normal school work, he also has extra Korean language classes a couple of times a week. The workload was already heavy for Chenle, especially with the language barrier. But having an extra activity that he might enjoy with his peers could be great for his development, and a good way for Chenle to get away from all the studying.

“You can do it if you promise me your grades won’t slip and you need to stay on top of your chores. If you think you can handle it, then you have my full support.” Kun decides. 

“Thanks Kun-ge you’re the best!” Chenle whoops, pumping his fist in the air.

“Hey, do you have an Instagram account?” Kun asks as nonchalantly as possible.

Chenle’s fist drops, falling to his head, awkwardly rubbing at his hair. “Why?”

Kun nudges Chenle with his knee. “You do, don’t you? Tell me your username.”

“Okay.. But don’t get angry!” 

“Why would I get angry, what did you post?”

“It’s zhongle.. go find out for yourself. Bye dage I’m gonna do my homework!”

Kun watches Chenle scramble out of the room with a smile, potato crisps lying forgotten on his desk. He grabs his phone, pulling up Chenle’s account, slightly worried at what his younger brother has been posting on the internet for the whole world to see. He doesn’t think that Chenle is the type to put up weird things, his mind racing at what he could be posting that would ever make him angry. He isn’t posting offensive pictures or half-naked pictures is he!? He’s going to kill Chenle if there’s anything inappropriate!

He finds the account with ease, shaking his head at the unlocked profile. He’ll have to tell Chenle to lock his account later. You never know what people might do with your pictures, especially when you’re a minor. Creepy people exist alright. He has to protect his little brother!

What greets him when he scrolls through Chenle’s account aren’t offensive memes or other incriminating pictures – thank god. Instead, his little brother’s account is full of, well, himself. Pictures of Chenle and him, pictures of the food he made, the scenery of when they’re out and about together. There’s, of course, plenty of selfies and shots with his friends - for every post that includes Kun there’s at least another two of Chenle with his friends. But what really gets to Kun are the captions on their posts.

Honestly, Kun kind of wants to cry.  

 

Kun lost his parents when he was nine, a dark road on a rainy night, a drunk driver swerving on the road, and his parents at the wrong time and wrong place. He was at home with his babysitter, playing with his dad’s model airplanes he was never allowed to touch in one moment, and in the next he was at the hospital cradled into the arms of auntie and uncle Zhong. They were trying not to cry in front of him as they smoothed down his hair over and over again, rocking him back and forth. "We'll take care of you," they'd said, so they did.

Auntie and uncle Zhong were his own parents’ best friends, and they gladly took him in. The Zhong’s already had an older daughter who’d moved out and married by the time he came into their home, and they had a little toddler, Chenle. He remembered the kid from the many times their parents would meet up for their little get-togethers. Suddenly, the little squirt he saw a handful of times every month became a figure who he saw every day.

Kun, didn’t know what to make of it at first. His parents were gone, he had no other family, he moved houses, moved schools, house in the suburbs replaced by a mansion in a gated community, his small local school replaced by a bigger university affiliated elementary school. All he had at first was a little suitcase, filled to the brim with trinkets and toys he had randomly packed in a daze. Auntie Zhong had told him that they would take care of the rest for him, and soon enough his new room in the Zhong house, unfamiliar and huge, filled up with his old books, clothes, toys and his father’s model airplane collection.

He remembers being overwhelmed and numb, remembers feeling lonely despite being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the Zhong household. For a little while, they’d let him be, making sure he went to school, ate his meals with the family and attended his therapy sessions, afraid of pushing him to his limit. Kun doesn’t remember much else from this time, other than the days blending into one another.

One day after a particularly hard day at school, Kun returned to the Zhong house, sat in his room and cried. He was so tired and confused and just _sad._ He didn’t understand why his parents had to leave him, didn’t understand how he was supposed to live without them when they were his entire life. A little figure had appeared at his door, eyes wide, waddling over to where he was sobbing on the floor. Chenle was hiding something behind his back, trying not to fall over as he crawled into Kun’s lap. He’d let him do it, unsure of how to handle a kid that small, flustered at the sudden contact with the kid. Chenle bumped his round head into Kun’s chin, presenting him with a little toy airplane.

“Dage, don’t cry,” he’d stammered, nudging the toy into Kun’s hands. He’d pointed towards his father’s models with his stubby fingers, eyes unbelievably round. “Let’s play together.” Kun had gripped the toy in his clammy hands, feeling grounded for the first time in weeks. They played. Kun could breathe.

From then on, Chenle insisted on playing with Kun whenever he got home, not resting until he’d launched at least one plastic toy at Kun’s head. It reminded him of the games he used to play with his dad. His cheeks hurt from smiling, his heart full of the kid’s high-pitched laughter. Maybe things would get better with time. And they did.

Months went by like this, Kun coming home from school, greeted by tiny Lele waving at him from the kitchen window, auntie Zhong by his side making their lunch with a grin. She wouldn’t let them play before they had their meal and fruits, which they gladly devoured. When Chenle started going to school himself, Kun had gripped his small, chubby hand in his own as they walked to school together for the first time. He’d decided he wanted to become a good brother.

Looking at Chenle’s Instagram, he figures that he did okay.

Kun guesses that he always saw himself as a temporary guest in the Zhong house. It’s not that they didn’t make him feel at home, but more that Kun didn’t want to impose on their family. So he poured himself into his studies, got as many scholarships as he could and moved to study in South-Korea. He worked as many part-time jobs as he could once he turned fifteen, telling the Zhong family that he had extracurriculars. They’d never leave him wanting for anything, and they would definitely not agree to him working part-time jobs when he turned old enough to work, but Kun couldn’t help but want to leave. So he worked, and studied and then moved, completely independent, completely on his own.

It was hard at first, not knowing the language fluently definitely contributed to his fears and feeling utterly isolated, but then he met Sicheng in his Korean class. They’d hit it off, Kun got a job at Sicheng’s bar and he felt better than he had in years. He got his undergraduate diploma and the research position that he wanted, his life finally felt like his own. Like shedding skin, Kun felt reborn.

He’s never really thought about why Chenle moved. Kun always figured that he wanted a taste of freedom or a change of pace, the younger has always been impulsive like that. His parents probably only allowed him to come because he was there too, looking out for Chenle. He never expected that Chenle was following in his footsteps.

Someone knocks on his door, and Kun looks up to see Chenle popping his head into the room. “Are you angry? I can take them down if you want.”

“Come here, why would I be upset. You didn’t post anything bad.” Kun says, opening his arms for a hug. 

Chenle shuffles into the room, hopping into Kun’s chair with him and snuggles into the hug. “I didn’t ask for your permission.”

“It’ alright, it’s fine if it’s me.” Kun laughs. “But lock your account.”

“I knew you were going to say that!” Chenle groans.

“If you knew then why didn’t you do it in the first place?”

“Okay, okay I’ll do it.” Chenle relents.

Kun snorts, grinning at Chenle’s frowny face. “I’m really happy you came to Korea.”

“I’m happy too, big bro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Chenle and Kun so much bye.
> 
> I got locked out of my AU twitter... TT My main is @crispyuta though, come say hi if you'd like! <3


	10. Chapter 10

『SATURDAY'S FEED』

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: the long-awaited tenkun date!!


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